As all things in any universe Equestria too had a beginning. In the same way a plant sometimes grows on the remains of its ancestors, Equestria grew on the remains of the world that came before it.

Scientists assume an imbalance in the magical field of the universe caused a gigantic explosion that formed all matter. That matter then gathered and formed Equestria by the virtue of its own gravitational pull. It then pulled in more and more matter until it had absorbed all material in its sphere of influence. Sun and moon got pulled into orbit and the basic foundations of life were laid. And as life tends to do, it inevitably found a way to thrive.

More religious ponies believe that Equestria was formed by an all-powerful creator. Said creator then formed the very universe in a way so they could live in it. Some believe that either Celestia or Luna or both of them did that. Others give that honour to an obscure entity they call Faust.

Neither the scientists nor the priests are correct though. But Twilight Sparkle will soon find out the truth.

Princess Twilight Sparkle discovers a centuries-old mystery hidden in the Royal Archives. Her investigation leads through layer after layer of deception and misdirection, setting her hooves on a path that seems to be leading to a mysterious secret. Along the way, she learns that some friendships can be very, very strange.

Book 1 of the Alicorn Adventure series.

AUDIOBOOK by VisualPony
Featured at the Royal Canterlot Library
TV Tropes Page (Courtesy of Sandtalon)
Goodreads Page (Courtesy of Facedeer)
Equestria Daily Page

WARNING: Major spoilers in the comments. Takes place several months after the end of season four. (Not a Da Vinci Code crossover, BTW!)

Do you see a dark tag? No, you don't. Not dark. Well, okay, there are a couple of dark-ish bits, but that's all. Not enough to warrant a tag. Speaking of tags, there really ought to be "Badass Twilight" and "Friendshipping" ones.

Sequels and side-stories (and more) can be found here Offprint and AO3, and a hardbound two-volume set of all that can be ordered from The Ministry of Image.

My editor for the first edition of this story was Gogito, and I can't thank him enough for all the hard work he did. My editor for the revised version was PresentPerfect, and he did a terrific job of getting the story into excellent shape.